Sedona, AZ

Driving along Rt. 40 through the desert we passed the sign for Winslow, Arizona which prompted us to listen to the Eagles song, “Take It Easy”. “What's famous about Winslow, AZ?,” Lou asked. We found out that Meteor Crater was a nearby starred attraction and decided to take a detour to it. We sure learned a lot about meteors and the frequent occurrence of their earthly visitations. Originally thought to be a volcanic crater, Daniel Barringer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Barringer_(geologist) proved the crater's origin to be from impact not from a volcano. This led to present-day modern discoveries on the nature of meteors and asteroids; specifically, it led to research on how to deflect large space objects from impacting earth's populated areas. This meteor site has been used as a testing ground for space travel. One scene from the movie, Starman, was shot here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starman_(film) Scientists project that the iron/nickel meteor was 150 feet across when it reached its impact site; it was traveling the speed of going from New York to California in 5 minutes, and it produced the force of 1,000 times the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. At least half of the meteor vaporized upon its impact 50,000 years ago leaving a crater that would hold 20 football fields.

On the road from Flagstaff to Sedona our goal was Oak Creek Canyon. We found a delightful state park along the way. Because it was the start of the holiday weekend, many families were enjoying the allure of the narrow river running through Slide Rock State Park. We were thankful to find a short hiking trail above the cliffs which overlooked the river; the scene included views of the many, many families below enjoying the water, sun and beautiful scenery.